Public Input Sessions Scheduled for Pinedale and Jackson RegionsWorkshop Details and Locations
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will hold public workshops on the elk feedground management action plan process for the Pinedale and Jackson elk herd units. The events offer process updates and an opportunity for the public to engage in conversation and share input.The Pinedale workshop is set for February twenty-sixth at six p-m at the Pinedale Regional Game and Fish Office on four hundred thirty-two East Mill Street. The Jackson workshop will take place on February twenty-eighth at one p-m in the Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium on one hundred twenty-five Virginian Lane.For related wildlife management discussions, check out this story on Wyoming Game and Fish to Hold Public Meetings on Proposed Regulation Changes.
Background on Feedground Management Plans
Following the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission’s approval of the Wyoming Elk Feedgrounds Management Plan in March twenty-twenty-four, the Jackson and Pinedale regions began developing specific feedground management action plans tailored to individual elk herds and their respective feedgrounds. There are three elk herd units in each region, which include twenty-one department-operated feedgrounds.In the Pinedale Region, the feedground management action plan development process started with the Pinedale elk herd unit. This herd unit encompasses elk hunt areas ninety-seven and ninety-eight and includes the Fall, Scab and Muddy Creek feedgrounds.The Jackson Region began its process with the Jackson elk herd unit, which encompasses elk hunt areas seventy through seventy-two, seventy-five and seventy-seven through eighty-three. This herd unit includes the department-operated Fish Creek and Patrol Cabin feedgrounds, as well as the federally-managed National Elk Refuge.Read more about elk management in this article on Wyoming Game and Fish to Discuss Jackson Lake Fishing Regulations, which touches on regional wildlife planning.
Goals and Strategies of the Action Plans
The feedground management action plans are intended to evaluate each strategy outlined in the Feedgrounds Management Plan and determine how it can be uniquely and appropriately applied at the herd unit and feedground levels, while adhering to the Commission-supported goals and sideboards established in the plan.Goals include promoting elk herd health by limiting disease transmission while providing supplemental feed, and reducing reliance of elk on supplemental feed while adhering to the sideboards.Sideboards encompass adhering to standard department process for elk herd unit population objective review with public process and Commission approval for any proposed changes; prioritizing hunting opportunities as the primary tool to manage elk populations toward the Commission-approved herd unit objectives; minimizing elk damage to private property, disease transmission to livestock, and negative economic impacts to livestock producers; and minimizing competition with other wintering wildlife species.
The Jackson Hole Radio staff has been covering news in Teton County, WY since 1963. Our editorial team is committed to providing readers, and listeners, with first-hand accounts of everyday life in one of America’s most beautiful towns.
